Armed Guardsmen fought for the Navy, on merchant ships: A World at War

National ArchivesA Navy gun crew as depicted in a World War II poster promoting metal recycling.

The Denny's banquet room should have smelled like breakfast.

Instead, the aroma of cordite and canvas, wet steel and salty seas seemed to hang in the air as nearly a dozen old sailors gathered for their monthly menu of memories served over-easy, with a side of humor and horror.

During World War II they were members of the Navy's Armed Guard, manning the guns on merchant ships that ferried men and supplies to battlefields abroad, often while running a gantlet of enemy airplanes, boats and submarines.

By war's end, 144,900 Armed Guard sailors had served on 6,236 ships. Some 700 of those ships were sunk, and more than 3,000 Armed Guardsmen killed or wounded. But they'd helped deliver an estimated 268 million tons of cargo and more than 7 million military personnel.

They played their role long ago in faraway locales that many never would've dreamed of ever seeing before the war. But nowadays, both those distant times and places can still be readily recalled with a mug of hot Joe and the right breakfast buddy.

Their hats bore the names of ships or destinations such as Murmansk or Archangel in the deadly Arctic convoys to Russia. A slice of toast could inspire stories of bug-riddled bread. A stained cuff evoke memories of sea-washing clothes by dragging them off the stern.

And there were quiet, somber moments nestled between the thud of mugs and clanking silverware as the old sailors remembered crippled ships and seamen left behind because the convoys couldn't stop to pick up survivors.

The Armed Guard fought the extremes of weather, the boredom of long voyages and the terror of sudden enemy attacks. They were assigned in 27-man crews per ship, handling assorted anti-aircraft and anti-submarine weaponry, or communications gear.

Before they gave merchant ships a fighting chance, starting in 1941, civilian crews mounted lengths of telephone poles as ersatz deck guns in an effort to fool the enemy.

Many of the Armed Guard had never sailed an ocean before.

Former signalman Emery Brandich, 83, of Euclid, recalled that initially "I was up on the bridge, heaving and seasick, every day for the first six weeks. Then, it was perfect, just heaven." (So much so that he and his wife went on several cruises after the war.)

When the seas got rough, so did life aboard ship. Even the basics, like eating, became a chore. "You had to hang on to your plate when the ship got to rocking and rolling," recalled Ray Hammon, 83, of Windsor.

Bill Joyce, 84, of Avon, said that when war broke out, his father, a World War I Army vet, called all six of his boys together and told them to enlist in the Navy -- where the food was regular and you didn't sleep in a muddy foxhole.

"Join the Navy and see the world," the recruiting posters promised. "And I really did. The Atlantic, Pacific, Mediterranean and eight countries," Joyce said.

He served on four ships and participated in two invasions (Normandy and Okinawa). He weathered typhoons and the threat of kamikaze attacks. Saw the grim flash of a fuel tanker exploding just over the horizon.

But never worried. "Hey, if it's going to happen, it'll happen. I didn't see anybody concerned about it," he said. "Young and dumb, I guess."

Mack Paynter, 83, of Lorain, had the same attitude right up to the day his ship was torpedoed and sunk off the South Carolina coast. Afterward, on subsequent voyages, he looked closer at everything. "When you'd see a bird in the water, you wanted to make sure it was a bird and not a [submarine] periscope," he said.

"Yeah, well, why not? That's what happened if you got hit. They didn't show no mercy," said Al Borgman, 84, of Euclid.

Borgman sailed on five oceans with the Armed Guard. Endured storms that bounced his ship "like a postage stamp on a bubble." Wondered about his fate as he listened to depth charges trying to kill a sub nearby. Lasted through long periods of boredom punctuated by heart-thumping action -- such as the time he was once caught showering when the general quarters alarm sounded. He rushed to his battle station wearing only soap and pants.

But all in all, "we had a lot of fun not knowing what we were basically doing," he said with a grin. "Young kids, that's all. Adventure. Every day was something new."

A nearby gunner stabbed a sausage and nodded. "Lot of memories," he said.

Suggested subjects for "A World at War" can be made by contacting reporter Brian Albrecht at The Plain Dealer, 1801 Superior Ave., Cleveland, OH 44114; balbrecht@plaind.com or 216-999-4853.